The Phoenix’s Rising – The Honey Grey Story
by grpruett
Summary: Post BD. Honey is caught between the Volturis and the new coven calling itself the Phoenix. The Phoenix wants to bring the Volturis to its knees. Honey just wants to live in peace, but she maybe forced to choose a side. Ch1-Ch3 was building up for ch4...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N1 The Twilight series belongs to Stephenie Meyer and was published by Little, Brown. I don't have any rights to the stories**

**A/N2 The sequel to The Newborn – The Honey Grey story. Initially I had planned to write some on my Buffy story before I started this sequel, but my creative juices are still on this Twilight story. So here's chapter one. **

_Italic print is mind-reading thoughts_ (If any)

* * *

It has been nine months to the day since I was turned into a vampire; nine months minus one day since I had to crush my dad's dream of me following in his footsteps and becoming an architect. Later that same day, I had barely beaten Edward Cullen in a foot race… twice in a row along with learning about imprinting from Jacob; nine months minus five days since my primal instincts were officially tamed—of course being around someone who was bleeding would send my self control into a frenzy, but so far my self control hadn't failed me yet—nine months minus seven days since I painted the Cullen's family portrait, which now hangs in their living room; six months since I had met the Denali Coven, and four months since my boyfriend Deangelo Ricci and I moved out of Forks and into British Columbia.

The town that we had moved to was small and somewhat isolated and was filled with large game to feed on. I didn't want to leave Forks, but if we would've stayed, the Volturis would've visited the Cullens again due to the growing vampire population in Forks and I didn't want that. On the plus side, I was able to buy a store and open an art gallery with a loan that Carlisle and Esme had given me. Carlisle had told me to take my time at paying them back, but I hate owing money, so that money will be paid back at the first chance I get.

Deangelo had found his way in the world again among the humans by joining the police force in our new Canadian town. Being that it has been only two years since he was a police officer in an Italian city, he was able to transfer his records over.

During the first four months in our new town Deangelo and I had ran into five different groups of two nomad vampires within the region. In each of the five groups one of the vampires was a newborn and was being closely monitored by the other.

Deangelo was a former Volturis' witness and he knew the supervising vampires as being former Volturis' witnesses as well. During the first two encounters I didn't think too much about it; however, when the third group pointed to the same theme I had called the Cullens.

Alice was the one to answer the phone and before I could tell her why I was calling, she told me what was happening.

The supervising vampires—also known as Handlers—are calling themselves the Phoenix and they had come up with the plan to end the Volturis' reign. And like the Volturis, they were seeking out vampires with abilities.

Deangelo and I had set up permanent residence within the region and we didn't want the trouble, so when Deangelo and I ran into the last two groups of vampires we were less polite to them as we insisted that they moved on from the region.

Sophie and Marcus were the last two vampires we had encountered. Sophie was the handler and Marcus was the newborn, and unfortunately Marcus had an ability similar to Eleazar's. Marcus knew when another vampire had an ability, but he couldn't sense what that ability was.

It's been two weeks since Deangelo and I once again refused to join the Phoenix coven and that we less than politely insisted for Sophie and Marcus to move on. They did move on as the others before them did; however, this time a member of the Phoenix now know that Deangelo and I have abilities.

Deangelo was capable of perfect memory recall; in fact he was capable of reliving events in his head as if that event was happening all over again. Deangelo was also capable of resisting any kind of temptation. Both abilities are perfect for his job as a Canadian police officer while peacefully working among the humans, but impractical abilities to use in battle, and unfortunately Sophie left without knowing that little tidbit.

Sophie had also left without knowing what my ability was as well, which was mimicking the abilities around me that was within a distance of forty yards of me without any walls between us. Walls being between me and the vampires with abilities would prevent me from mimicking those abilities, unless I was less than seven feet away and then the wall being there didn't matter one way or the other.

Deangelo and I had prepared ourselves for another unpleasant visit from the Phoenix members; however, one day ago, Alice called and told me to also prepare for a visit from Jane and Alec, which is now due to happen at any moment.

I felt the urge to flee the region once I was informed of the Volturis' high guards' visit, but I decided against fleeing when Alice assured me that fleeing would only implicate me as being part of the Phoenix. So now I'm working at my art gallery and pondering what was to come while waiting for Jane and Alec's arrival.

"Oh, I like this," a woman customer told her husband while pulling me from my worried thoughts.

As I stood behind the counter, I glanced over at what they were admiring and it was a Pegasus painting that I was selling on consignment for Chloe Bones.

Chloe was one of the local talents and her paintings sold slightly better than my paintings, but I didn't mind. As long as my paintings were actually selling I was happy.

"I actually like this painting on these wolves," the man said as he pointed to one of my paintings.

The painting that he pointed to was a memory image that I got from Jacob's mind while I was mimicking Edward's mind-reading ability. The theme of the painting was about five wolves running through a snow-covered forest. The theme itself wasn't all that exciting, but I tried to capture the unique features of the five wolves; such as the fur color and if the fur was long or short… or even speckled.

"That is a nice painting too," the woman agreed which brought a grin across my face. "Neither one of these paintings is awfully expensive, so we could get them both."

"All right," the man agreed as the sound of someone grabbing the doorknob of the front door grabbed my attention.

I turned to look just before the door opened, but before I could see who was walking in, visions of random events began to flash through my head. The random visions were almost like when Alice would be around me, but unlike it at the same time. These visions were different somehow, but I couldn't pinpoint what the difference was.

I quickly closed my eyes to concentrate on blocking out these visions like I would when I get annoying visions while being around Alice. When the visions became a background thought, I opened my eyes and watched as the three figures walked into my shop.

The first one through the door was Jane. I recognized her from everyone's thoughts when I was mimicking Edward's mind-reading ability; however, she looked to be younger than when I saw her from everyone's thoughts. In everyone's thoughts I thought she looked to be seventeen or eighteen, but while seeing her firsthand, she looked to be no older than fifteen years old. She wore a gray cloak. Her hood was off while displaying her short brown hair; and she was no taller than Alice.

Alec came though door two steps behind Jane. He looked to be around the same age as Jane and he looked much like her too, but with a more boyish features. He also wore a gray cloak.

The third one—a man in his early twenties—who came through the door was a complete stranger. This one had never flashed through anyone's memory before and he too was wearing a gray cloak.

The third one mumbled something in a foreign language that I didn't understand. Deangelo had been teaching me Italian since the second day we met and I'm now at the point where I can hold a conversation in Italian without too much difficulty, so I knew right a way that he wasn't from Italy.

"Sh!" Jane hissed. Her hiss was short and very commanding.

The man just quickly bowed his head. His reaction reminded me of a dog that was being ordered to shut-up by his master. The entire incident was short, but it was powerful enough to give strength to my primal mind for the first time in months.

When a low growl escaped my lips, Jane grimaced in my direction before whispering her warning, "You had better rethink that action."

My logical mind had already regain control over my primal mind though and I just stood quietly while glowering un-approvingly at her and her group.

"This one will learn soon enough," Alec added.

My glower just deepened towards Alec and I remained quiet as the three stepped up to the counter.

"Honey Grey." Jane's voice was so impassive that I wasn't sure if she was asking me or telling me.

"Are you asking who I am or telling me that I'm Honey Grey?"

Jane glowered at me before hissing in an impatient tone, "Are you Honey Grey?!"

I would've bet that she knew who I was already and I glowered at her for a short moment in disbelief that she didn't know that before I answered with, "Yes."

"I'm sure you have heard of me and my brother while you were staying with the Cullens. I'm Jane." She gestured towards her brother. "He's Alec." She then gestured towards the third one. "And he's Batista."

"Yes, I have heard of you and Alec."

"Where's Deangelo?" Alec asked.

"Working," I simply answered.

"Being that you and Deangelo are friends with the Cullens, I'm surprised that Alice didn't warn you of our visit," Alec said.

Before I could respond to Alec Jane had read something in my face that I didn't think that had showed.

"Alice did tell you that we were coming," Jane said.

"She did, but she couldn't pinpoint the exact time of your arrival."

"So you know why we are here." Again Jane's voice was impassive that I wasn't sure if that was a question or a statement.

"Again was that a question or a point of fact?"

"A question," Jane hissed as the couple browsing my store was walking towards us.

Without looking at the couple, Alec whispered to me, "I strongly suggest that you hurry these humans out of here and close up shop until our business has been concluded. Batista doesn't have the will power to restrain himself for very long while around humans."

"Yes," I quickly agreed. I then looked at Jane. "Yes, to your question as well."

Jane just stood while staring unresponsively towards me. What I would give for Edward to be in the room with us right now. I then turned towards the approaching couple before saying, "I see you found a couple of paintings that caught your interest."

"Yes," the man agreed. "Although I'm not familiar with the two artists of these paintings, they are very talented."

A smile came across my face as I confessed, "Well, I'm actually the artist who painted that wolf painting." I noticed Jane doing a double-take at my wolf painting before she fiercely stared at it. "Thank you for the compliment."

The man grinned while saying, "You're welcome."

"As for the artist to the other painting, she lives in the next town over," I continued. "Anyway, will this be it for today."

"For now," the woman said. "But how late are you open?"

I glanced in Jane and Alec's direction before I said, "Normally, I'm opened from 9:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M., Monday through Saturday; however, today there is a special circumstance that you two will be my last customers for today."

"I want to bring a friend in here to show her the lovely paintings that you sell, so most likely you will be seeing me again first thing in the morning."

"That would be great. Anyway, it will be ninety dollars for both paintings."

"Of course," the man said before taking out his credit card and handing it to me.

I took his card and swiped it though the machine. After handing it back to him and after he signed the appropriate receipt, I followed the couple to the door.

As the couple was walking out, I told them, "Have a nice day."

"Thanks, you too," they both said while leaving.

Once the door closed behind them I locked the door and displayed the 'close' sign on the door.

When I turned towards Jane, Alec and Batista, Jane said, "You're a very talented artist…"

"Thanks," I interrupted while acknowledging that compliment.

"And I also recognized those wolves," Jane continued to say just after I spoke.

"Yes, well, to anyone else, those wolves are just images in some painting."

Jane nodded before saying, "You know why we are here… and I wasn't asking a question."

"I'm guessing that you're here because of those nomad vampires that have been coming though this region from time to time."

"Nomads!" Batista disgustingly spat.

"Sh!" Jane quickly hissed which caused me to glower at her. Jane saw the look that I had shot her and continued with, "You disapprove of how I treat him."

I continued to glower at her for a moment before I said, "I think what I approve of or disapprove of is irrelevant at this point."

"So true," Jane quickly agreed. "Anyway, I think that you and Deangelo know that those vampires are not nomads."

"Nomads and being random nuisances are all I know them at being." I lied. However, I felt that admitting to who they were would be dangerous for me. "And if they're not nomads then what are they?"

Jane and Alec incredulously stared at me before Alec asked, "Are you telling us that you and Deangelo aren't friends with these vampires?"

"I want nothing to do with vampires that would feed on humans," I quickly said, which was true.

"Deangelo feeds on …"

I didn't allow Alec to finish as I told them, "He has given up feeding on humans. I wouldn't be with him if he hadn't." Which was also true.

"Friends with them or not, I still believe that you know more about these 'Nomads' than you're letting on," Jane quickly added.

"Such as?" I prompted while acting ignorant.

"Such as they aren't Nomads, but a newly formed coven known as the Phoenix," Jane informed me and of course I had already known that. "We know that they have twelve members while six of them are newborns, and their plans are to bring down the Volturis."

"And you think I'm part of the twelve or in additional to the twelve?"

"In additional to," Alec said.

"Well, you three have a bad informant," I quickly told them. "I'm not a member of the Phoenix, so if you come here to kill me, you'll be killing an innocent."

Jane incredulously stared at me before asking, "Why would your name and Deangelo's name be mentioned during one of the Phoenix gatherings."

"I couldn't tell you, but perhaps your incompetent informant can."

Batista growled at me and I growled back.

"Enough!" Jane ordered. My growl then shifted towards Jane. "I can down you, Honey, in a blink of an eye, and I find it hard to believe that the Cullens hadn't educated you of that fact."

"She hasn't personally felt your wrath, sister," Alec smugly said. "Perhaps she needs a demonstration."

"That won't be necessary," I quickly said while regaining control over my primal instinct. "And yes, Jane, the Cullens had told me what you and Alec are capable of."

"Then I suggest that you curve those desires to growl at me," Jane politely warned.

"Yes, of course," I quickly agreed.

"And start telling me the truth," Jane strongly added.

"I have been," I quickly shot at Jane with strong sincerity in the tone of my voice. "No matter how I feel about the Volturis, I have no desire to join the Phoenix coven."

Jane stared at me with recognition of hearing the truth in her eyes before she said, "Now I believe that was the most honest thing that you told me since we met." It was, but why would she say that? "The Phoenix is trying to recruit you… and that wasn't a question, but a point of fact." I didn't think I did, but at some point I let something vital slip to Jane that I didn't want her or the Volturis to know, and I just glowered at Jane as she continued with. "Why? And that was a question."

"Again you should ask your incompetent informant," I simply said.

Jane smugly grinned before she gestured towards Batista and said, "He is our informant and he's not as incompetent as you would like him to be. He is inconveniently restricted to what he can see though."

"He sees the future like Alice. Well he's wrong…"

"He doesn't see the future," Jane quickly interrupted with. —So what was I seeing if those visions weren't future events? —I shot her a confused look as she continued with, "He has what we call remote viewing…"

"I heard of that," I quickly interrupted with. "That's where someone can see current events all around the world while meditating."

"Except Batista doesn't need to meditate, and unfortunately, he can only see those events when eight or more individuals get together." Yes. That was what the difference was that I couldn't figure out before. The visions were about groups of eight or more individuals. "Batista can see or hear once the Phoenix coven gathers and he heard your name and Deangelo's name mentioned."

"This art gallery was mentioned too, which is how we knew to come here," Alec added.

"Which brings us back to the question," Jane said without much of a pause between Alec and her. "Why is the Phoenix coven interested in recruiting you and Deangelo?"

"Maybe they heard that I could outrun Edward Cullen and they need a fast runner," I shot at Jane.

Jane again smugly grinned at me before she said, "It's not your running ability that they want. So what ability do you have that would interest them."

Okay, Jane's insightfulness was annoying the hell out of me. She picked out two vital pieces of information when I thought I said nothing to give them away. I scowled at her while saying, "The only ability that I have is to paint pictures."

"Your artistic talents aren't what they want," Jane said.

"Perhaps they just want me to paint their group portrait," I hissed sarcastically.

"You are either foolish or brave to talk to us in that manner," Alec casually said.

"Or you believe that you have an effective ability to counter ours," Jane added. "A counter that would interest the Phoenix coven."

"The only counter I have is my witty and sometimes foolish remarks," I quickly said.

Jane grinned before saying, "That's not your only counter. So what is your ability?"

"Without Bella Cullen's presence there's no real affective ability against your ability or Alec's ability," I countered.

"We could always take her to Volterra," Alec suggested. "Aro could get the truth out of her."

When a growl escaped my lips towards Alec, Jane turned her ability on me, which brought forth the excruciating pain. I staggered back a few steps from the intensity of it, and not knowing how long it will last, I concentrated on the random visions that Batista's ability was giving me.

When I stood my ground for a several seconds as a statue, Jane ended the pain that she was causing me, and she had a dumbfounded expression on her face when I looked at her.

"Bella's shield stops my ability completely, but what ability do you have that keeps you from feeling the full intensity of the pain?" Jane quickly pondered aloud.

"I did!" I angrily hissed "That was the worse pain I had ever felt! Worse than when I was turned into a vampire nine months ago!"

"Nine months?!" Alec surprisingly uttered. "You're still a newborn."

"So!" I again angrily hissed.

"You're not acting like a newborn," Alec said.

"Nor did you act as if you were being tortured by my ability," Jane added.

"That pain was the worse torture that I had ever endured," I again angrily hissed.

"That's just it," Jane quickly retorted. I gave her a confused look. "You shouldn't have been able to endure that."

"Was it supposed to have killed me?!" I confusingly shot at her.

I saw in Jane's eyes that she was just as confused as I was just before she said, "Everyone who is effected by my ability is so paralyzed by the tortuous pain that he or she uncontrollably drops to the ground and screams out as if every molecule of his or her body is being tortured individually at the same time… everyone except for you."

"I'm sorry I disappointed you," I hissed.

"I'm confused, not disappointed," Jane quickly shot at me. "How are you able to endure the pain?"

I shrugged confusingly before I sarcastically said the only thing I could think to say, "Mind over matter."

"Mind over matter?" Alec confusingly echoed.

"I may feel the pain, but I don't have to dwell on it. I find another thought to force my focus on."

"You have an ability to mentally escape torturous pain," Alec said. "Even if that pain is an illusion of the mind."

"You don't act like a newborn, and you can find a mental escape to torturous pain," Jane began as she pondered over the puzzle pieces. "An interesting ability or abilities to have, but that can't be what the Phoenix coven is seeking to recruit."

"Perhaps there is an individual who can sense abilities, but he or she can't sense what those abilities are." That was a fact, but I made it out as if I was only suggesting it. "So they just might be blindly recruiting vampires with abilities."

"Possible, but that doesn't explain the Phoenix's interested in Deangelo," Alec said.

"He has an ability," I said without thinking if I should or shouldn't.

"And that ability would be?" Jane quickly asked as her interest piqued.

Crap! I didn't mean to implicate Deangelo like I just did.

When I stood like a statue while staring at Jane, Jane continued to say, "You have already implied that he has an ability. And I may not be able to force you to scream out in pain, but I'm willing to bet I can with him." When a growl escaped my lips, Jane again turned her ability on me. Before I could mentally escape the pain, Jane released me, and immediately following I shot her an annoyed look. "My ability is still affective against you even if it is only a swat on the hand for you. Now what is Deangelo's ability?"

I glowered at Jane before saying in an annoyed tone, "Deangelo has perfect memory recall."

"That's not an ability," Alec quickly said.

"Why couldn't it be?" I asked.

"Where were you when you were changed into a vampire?" Jane casually asked.

"I was in Forks, Washington."

"Who changed you?" Jane asked.

"Fabian," I quickly answered.

"One of our witnesses that remained in Forks after we left?" Alec asked.

I nodded as I continued to say, "Yeah, he attacked me in the woods, and once I was bitten the wolves attacked and killed him. Edward and Carlisle then came to my aid."

"So you were around Bella for the first five months after becoming a vampire."

Again I couldn't tell if that was a question or a point of fact. Without asking which it was I said, "I was around all the Cullens for the first five months."

"When did you paint that wolf painting that you sold those humans?" Jane immediately asked.

"A couple of weeks ago," I quickly answered. "Why are you asking me these weird questions?"

I figured out why when Jane asked, "Where was Deangelo when you painted it?"

I glowered at Jane before I childishly answered with, "I don't remember."

"Perhaps Deangelo needs to be in the room for you to remember," Jane retorted.

I continued to glower at Jane as Alec asked, "What are you suspecting, Dear sister?"

"Bella never acted like a newborn either, Alec," Jane reminded him. "The first vampire that I had ever heard about acting in such of a way. And then Honey soon afterwards. Honey then paints a painting from memory, which to my recollection of seeing the wolves firsthand was very accurate. And not too long ago Honey indicated that Deangelo's ability was his perfect memory recall."

Alec glared at me while saying, "Honey, is duplicating certain abilities."

"Which abilities can you duplicate?" Jane quickly asked.

I harshly glared at Jane and after a moment of hesitation, I answered with, "All of them… simultaneously. I'm considered as a mimic by the Cullens." I gestured towards Batista. "I'm even getting random visions of group meetings from mimicking his ability as we speak."

"So you could actually use my own ability against me." Jane's voice was again impassive that I wasn't sure if she was asking me or telling me.

"Was that a question or a point of fact?"

"Choose one and respond," Jane hissed.

"Yes, I could cause you the pain while mimicking your ability," I answered as I turned into confession mode. "The phoenix coven asked Deangelo and me to join their coven three times and we refused each time. Sophie and Marcus were the last ones to ask us, and Marcus has the ability to sense abilities, but he can't sense what those abilities are."

"The Phoenix coven doesn't know your ability."

"Your impassive tone is quite annoying," I hissed.

Jane glowered at me before she said through clenched teeth, "I was asking."

"The Phoenix coven doesn't know my ability."

"Excellent," Jane quickly said. I gave Jane a confused look as she continued with, "You are going to infiltrate the Phoenix coven for us."

"I'm not interest in joining your side either," I quickly told Jane.

"Yeah, well, like it or not you are in this," Jane said.

"And you're a bit presumptuous to believe that I would join the Volturis over the Phoenix coven," I pointed out.

Jane grinned before saying, "The Phoenix coven will be stopped and their members will be destroyed. You're welcome to join their side, but if you do, you will undergo the same fate as they do."

"Again you're a bit presumptuous that your side will win."

"The Phoenix coven is not the first coven to rise up against the Volturis and they won't be the last one either. Now the next time that a member of the Phoenix approaches you to join their coven, you will do so. Whether it will be to legitimately join their side or to infiltrate for our side will solely be your choice. And I'm hoping that you'll make the right choice."

"And if I refuse?"

Jane again grinned before telling me, "Then I will send Felix and Demetri to visit you without my presence. Ripping vampires apart with sheer brute force is their ability and I seriously doubt that your mimicking ability will mimic their brute force ability." I harshly glared at Jane in annoyance. Jane grinned turned into a smile before she continued to say, "Judging from that harsh look that you're giving me, I think you understand me very clearly."

I glowered at Jane while demanding, "Get out!"

"Or you'll use my ability against me."

Again I couldn't tell if that was a question or a point of fact. I didn't bother asking or answering it as I stood while staring harshly at her.

When I didn't answer, Alec asked me, "Why didn't you use our abilities against us when we first entered?"

"She was trying to hide the fact that she could mimic them," Jane answered for me. "Most likely, she wanted it to be a complete shock to us when she had to use it and it almost worked. Anyway, Honey, we'll be around."

Without caring to see my reaction, Jane turned to leave. Alec and Batista just followed. I stared after them, and they simply left the store without even glancing or caring to see if I was looking or not.

As the door shut behind them, the phone rang. It rang three times before I got to it and when I answered, Alice said, "It's Alice, Honey. Every decision hasn't been made yet, so I can't see what is to come. But regardless, you can't ignore the war that is coming. Jane won't let you."

"How much did you see of Jane and Alec's visit?"

"I seen it all, but since certain decision weren't made beforehand, I saw it as it was happening and not before. I also know that you have plans to ignore Jane's warning about ignoring the war that is about to take place. Jane is serious about sending Felix and Demetri after you."

"Then I'll go somewhere where they can't find me."

"Honey, Jane was holding out on you when it came to Demetri…"

"What do you mean?"

"Demetri is a tracker. His ability is tracking and there is no vampire or human who he can't find once he's on that person's scent."

"Yeah, well, I'm a fast runner. I may not be able to hide from them, but… let them catch me if they can. And why didn't you warn me that Jane was annoyingly insightful? She picked out pieces of information when I didn't think I said anything for her to jump to a certain conclusion."

"Jane or Alec either one didn't get where they are because they were stupid; both of them are very bright. And don't you be stupid either."

"Well, I don't want to join the Volturis… or the Pheonix."

"Jane couldn't care less about you joining the Volturis or not. She just wants your help at identifying and locating all of the Phoenix leaders. And to be honest, the Voltuis may have their faults, but the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know."

"So you think I should infiltrate the Phoenix coven for Jane."

"Jane will leave you alone if you do."

"Well, who's to say that the Voltuis will win? Do you know? Can you see it?"

"Since certain decisions haven't been made yet, you right; I don't see who will win or what's to come, but going against the Voltuis is a fool's crusade."

"Yeah, well, I've been on a fool's crusade before and came out okay… so I'll continue to ignore the Phoenix… and the Voltuis and let the chips fall where the fall."

"You're tempting fate, and I advise against that, but it's your life… or death."

"Okay, thanks for the advice. Running still relaxes me, so I'm going to go for a run."

"Okay. Hopefully I'll talk to you later. Bye."

"Bye."

After hanging up, I took an unnecessary breath to calm myself.

After a short moment I picked up the phone again and called the police station in order to let Deangelo know that I was going for a run to calm myself after an unpleasant encounter with Jane and Alec. Deangelo was out on patrol though, so I left the message 'I met Jane and Alec. The shop is closed and I'm out on a run,' with the officer who had answered the phone.

The message I left was short, but I was hoping that he got the gist of the message. I then left the gallery.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N According to the website Heidi was born in 1000 BC and her ability is to ****create illusions of someone's desires. (I couldn't remember Heidi's age and her exact ability after reading the Twilight series, and I couldn't remember where to find the information within the books. So I looked it up on the internet.) In my story Heidi's ability will basically be the same, but I describe it slightly differently. Also in this chapter ****I gave Heidi a brief history and ****an identical twin sister with the exact same ability. Please read. **

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I took out the store key from my purse and then put the purse back into its cubbyhole. Once outside and the store was locked up, I shoved the key in my front pocket of my jeans.

Relax-fitting jeans, a good pair of running shoes and nice shirt were what I wore all the time even while working. The only times that I would wear a dress or formal clothes were when I attended social events, which I did a lot when I lived with the Cullens, but that pretty much came to a halt when Deangelo and I moved. So I'm always dressed to go for a run.

The gallery was located in town, so I had to run at a human's pace down the road. Concentrating to remain at a human's pace was oddly a diversion for troubling thoughts and normally I didn't have to run far or fast to relax; however, Jane had me more upset than any other time and concentrating to maintain a slow pace run wasn't helping.

It took me an hour to reach the woods at a human's pace and as soon as I knew that no one was around to see me, I took off at a full run through the woods.

I ran for thirty minutes at a full run before I felt calm enough to return to town, and as I was nearing the edge of town I got a whiff of blood that sent my logical mind into a frenzy.

I followed the smell to a SUV that had come off the road, rode down a hill and had flipped upside down. The accident scene was hidden from the road by the thick trees and bushes, and judging from the smell of blood, it had just happened a very short time ago.

"Is someone there?" a woman cried out. My primal mind was in full control, so I stalked closer. "I hear someone out there. Please help." I was nearing the SUV, and I was preparing myself to feed on a human for the first time. "My daughter, Bella is seriously hurt."—Bella?! Hearing the name 'Bella' was magical to me somehow. It immediately brought strength to my logical mind and I stopped in my tracks. —"She's losing a lot of blood."

I closed my eyes to regain full control over my primal mind before I said, "I'll go to the road and flag someone down."

"Wait!" the woman uttered. "Bella's leg is seriously bleeding. She'll bleed out if you don't make a tourniquet for her."

"I can't," I quickly said loud enough for the woman to hear. And it wasn't that I wasn't capable of doing it; it was that I didn't trust myself.

"I'm a doctor. I'll tell you what to do." When I hesitated to respond, she pleaded, "Please. She'll die, if you don't."

I stopped breathing and I continued to the SUV. I peeked in and saw Bella unconscious in the back. She looked to be no more than ten years old and she was out of her seat and lying against the roof of the up-side-down SUV. The woman was pinned in at the driver's seat while hanging upside down. The woman was wearing a belt for her pants and she was free enough to take that belt off.

I had to use my vampire strength to open the back SUV door, but I don't think that the woman had noticed. After I leaned into the SUV, the woman held out the belt for me to take. Before I took it, I saw blood covering her hand and on the belt.

I concentrated on maintaining my logical mind, and as I took the belt I asked, "How… how bad are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," she quickly said. She was lying to me. She might have been able to mask her voice to sound normal, but her heartbeat told a different story.

"Lying to me isn't going to help you."

"I'm fine," she insisted. "Just help Bella." She then instructed me on how to put on the tourniquet.

It only took me a minute to put the tourniquet on Bella's leg and once it was on I asked the woman, "How can I help you?"

"Bella should be fine now. You should go to the road and get help."

"You're bleeding out."

"I'm fine," the woman calmly said. "And as soon as you can find help, I'll remain that way. Now go!"

I slightly hesitated to back out of the SUV, and as I did, I said, "I'll go to the road and flag someone down." Before I stepped away, I heard the woman's heartbeat changing for the worse. She was going to die if it takes any length of time for help to arrive. Carlisle had changed Edward, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett into vampires before they died, but Carlisle was more than three hundred years old. I'm still considered a newborn and I'm not experience enough for that kind of self-control. "I'll be back soon."

I finally turned to leave and ran at full speed towards the road while not caring if this woman saw my speed or not. This woman needed medical help and if I pretended to be a human in front of her, she will bleed out and die.

Once I got to the road I listened carefully for vehicles and I heard an approaching siren… two sirens actually while approaching from a distance. Humans wouldn't have heard the sirens and because as to how faint they were they were still a good distance away. The sirens were getting slightly louder with each passing second so I decided to wait for them and flag them down once they got into view.

After about two minutes, a Canadian police cruiser and an ambulance came into view. A short time after that, the two vehicles stopped on the shoulder of the road near me, and almost immediately, Deangelo, his partner Stephen Craig and the crew of the ambulance jumped out of the two vehicles.

"How?" I questioned barely above a whisper. Deangelo turned towards me with a smile. I knew he would've heard me.

Deangelo had faced away from his partner and whispered, "Alice had called me."

I barely heard Deangelo so I knew I was the only one to hear him speaking. And of course as Alice was keeping tabs on me, she would have seen all of this.

I gestured in the direction of the SUV while saying, "This way."

"We'll handle it from here, Honey, so you should stay here," Stephen said as the two ambulance personnel grabbed their emergency field equipment, which included a carrying board. I just nodded. "What are you doing way out here on foot anyway?"

"I went for a run and I must have lost track of time." I lied.

"You're a long ways from town," Stephen pointed out.

"Well, I'm a fast runner. In fact, I was the fastest runner of my high school's track team and the second fastest runner among the rivaling high schools' track team."

"Still…" Stephen said as he shook it off before leading the ambulance crew down the hill.

"Deangelo, can we talk?" I asked before he could follow Stephen.

"We should be alright," Stephen told Deangelo. Deangelo just gave him a nod.

Deangelo walked up to me as Stephen led the ambulance crew to the SUV. Deangelo saw something on face that told him that I was troubled.

"You feel bad that you almost fed on those humans."

I nodded before saying, "I wanted to… desperately, and I would have it wasn't for the girl's name being Bella."

"Honey, there are only a few vampires who can resist such temptation," Deangelo began. "Me, the Cullens, the vampires within the Denali Coven and now you. Just the fact that you were able to stop yourself was amazing."

"If the child's name was Michelle, Samantha or… or anything other than Bella I wouldn't have been able to stop," I confessed.

"I'm no psychiatrist, but Bella Cullen had always been your anchor that kept your logical mind dominant, so to me it is only logical that by you hearing the name Bella was the one thing that could… or would weaken your primal mind. And after a couple more accident scenes, your primal mind won't even raise its head."

"Hopefully I won't come across anymore accident scenes," I quickly uttered.

"You're an immortal, Honey, so not only will you come across other accident scenes, you are destine to be a witness to great disaster scenes as well.'

"You do an outstanding job at comforting people," I sarcastically shot at him. "I'm good now, so you should see if Stephen could use the same outstanding help that you had given me."

"Honey, all I'm saying is that it will become easer to control your primal mind over time," Deangelo quickly added. "You're already doing an exceptional job. In fact, by you still being a newborn, hearing the name Bella shouldn't have even weaken your primal mind the way it did, and for that I'm very proud of you."

I hesitated slightly before nodding and saying, "Thanks."

Deangelo grinned and as he moved to give me a hug, he said, "And I can still see that you're going to beat yourself up over this."

As Deangelo was giving me a hug, I said, "I feel bad that I lost control the way I did."

"I know," he said in an understanding tone as he held me, which his touch and understanding were what I needed the most to feel better. I embraced his hug tighter and after a long moment we finally released each other. "Are you good, now?"

I grinned and nodded before I told him, "You should probably help Stephen." Deangelo nodded in an agreement and then gave me a quick kiss. Before he walked away, he pulled out a cell phone and held it out for me to take. "What's that?"

"It's a phone… a device one would use to communicate across long distances…"

I grinned and as I took the phone, I sarcastically said, "Cute, Mr. Funny-man." He just grinned. "Why are you giving it to me?"

"It's the phone you used to call me on to report this accident," he told me.

"Ah," I said in an understanding tone. "I guess it would look suspicious that I don't have phone with me." He just nodded with a grin and walked away. I attached the phone to my pants as I followed him to the edged of the road.

I stood at the edge of the road and I tried to watch, but I couldn't really see anything because of the thick foliage that was blocking my view. I could hear what was being said though, so I listened.

It took them several minutes to pull the woman out, and by the time they could put her on the board and carry her to the ambulance, she was unconscious as well. Her heartbeat was even worse than before, so I'm not sure if the ambulance arrived in time to save her.

As the ambulance crew was driving away with the woman and her daughter, I got into the back of the police cruiser. Stephen took the driver's seat as Deangelo took the front passenger's seat.

Just as Stephen was driving off, I said, "I want to go to the hospital."

"Honey, you don't…"

I didn't let Deangelo finish as I uttered sternly, "Yes! I do!"

Deangelo stared at me for a brief moment before saying, "Alright. Follow the ambulance, Stephen."

"You got it."

Since Stephen kept to the speed limit, we got to the hospital several minutes after the ambulance did, and once we stepped up to the nurse's station in the emergency ward, Deangelo told the nurse, "We're here to check up on a woman and her daughter who were very recently brought in by an ambulance. Their names are Barbara and Isabella Callister."

"Dr. Callister and her daughter were brought in?" The nurse surprisingly asked.

"And I didn't realize that she was a doctor or that she worked out of this facility," Deangelo said.

"She's a new doctor to this facility actually," the nurse said. "She came here from Seattle Washington, U.S. a couple of weeks ago." The nurse then gestured towards the E.R. "Anyway, I'll go and see what I can find out."

"You might not want to say anything about this to the other nurses and staff members until the doctor can fully evaluate her condition," Deangelo told the nurse. "Otherwise you could accidentally start an unnecessary rumor."

The nurse nodded in an agreement before walking away.

When the nurse left, I told Deangelo, "The woman did tell me that she was a doctor, but my mind was on…" I glanced at Stephen before I continued to say, "All that blood in the SUV."

"It's fine," Deangelo said as he put his arm around me and kiss my forehead. "You did a great job." I just grinned and leaned against him.

The nurse was gone for a few minutes before she return followed by a doctor. The doctor stepped up to us and said, "I understand that you three are asking about the condition of Dr. Callister and her daughter."

"Yes, Dr. Stone," Deangelo said as he read the doctor's name tag. "I'm officer Ricci." He then gestured toward me and Stephen. "My girlfriend Honey and my partner Officer Craig. Honey was the one who came across the accident scene, and my partner and I were the ones to respond to the call."

"Dr. Callister was severely bleeding and I was worried about her," I added.

Dr. Stone took a breath before saying, "We tried to get the bleeding under control, but her internal injuries were too great." Deangelo and my attention were drawn to another doctor as he stepped out. Stephen and Dr. Stone turned to see what had caught our attention. "We pronounced her dead within a few minutes after she arrived."

"My god!" I uttered. Should I have attempted to change her? I knew that she was in bad shape.

"Dr. Stone, I need a word with you," the arriving doctor said. I glanced over at him and saw with my vampire vision that his name tag read, 'Dr. Weatherly.'

"Excuse me," Dr. Stone told us before he walked away.

My mind wandered back to when I first thought of changing Dr. Callister into a vampire before she had a chance to bleed out.

As I was pondering my thoughts Deangelo asked, "What is it, Honey." I glanced at Stephen before shaking my head. Deangelo glanced at Stephen. "Excuse us for a second."

"Not here," I whispered barely audible.

Stephen shot me a slight grin as if he had heard me before he said, "I need to use the bathroom anyway. Just remember, you two are in a public place." I just gave Stephen a smirk before he walked away with a self-satisfying grin across his face.

"I'm glad I can't read minds as a rule," I said softly as Stephen walked away. "Your partner has too many crude thoughts for me not to hurt him."

"Do what I do and ignore him."

"Believe me, I am," I quickly said.

Deangelo grinned before he asked, "So what's troubling you?"

Before I answered, Dr. Weatherly caught my attention as he told Dr. Stone, "Dr. Cullister had no one listed for a next kin."

Deangelo saw that I was using my vampire hearing to listen to Dr. Stone and Dr. Weatherly's conversation and began listening also.

"What about Bella's dad?" Dr. Stone asked.

"He was killed in a skydiving accident a month before Dr. Cullister came here," Dr. Weatherly answered. "Bella has no one, and legally Bella is a U.S. citizen and not a Canadian citizen."

"So we'll have to ship her off to the United States' authorities after she's well enough to travel," Dr. Stone said.

"Bella will get lost in the system," I slightly hissed. "Damn it!"

"Calm down, Honey," Deangelo warned as he went to comfort me.

"I am calm," I quickly said. "I knew Dr. Cullister was in bad shape, and I should've done what Carlisle had done with…"

"No, you shouldn't have," Deangelo quickly said while interrupting me. He understood very well what I was about to say. "Changing her into a vampire would've caused more problems than it would've solved."

"But Bella…" I was only able to get out.

"Is alive because of you. If you didn't find that accident scene when you did, Bella and her mom both would've bled out."

"Yes, but Bella is now alone," I quickly said.

"And she still would've been alone if you would've changed her mother."

"Alright, you're right," I quickly agreed before I pondered on other ways to help Bella, which included my grandma becoming Bella's foster mother.

"Now what is going through that pretty little head of yours?"

I slightly grinned before I said, "My grandma is a registered foster mother. I wonder if she could foster Bella."

"Well, at least your thoughts this time are less scary than what I was imagining." I just gave him a smirk before he continued to say with a slight grin, "That's also not a bad idea."

"Thanks," I said with a pleasant grin. "I do have my moments."

Deangelo gave me a playful and dubious look before saying, "Yes, you do."

I shot him a slightly shock look before I practically demanded to know, "What do you mean by that?"

Deangelo acted innocent and said with a playful smile, "I was just agreeing with you." He then went to kiss me, but I moved away.

"You think I'm going to kiss you after that remark," I playfully said with a slight grin.

Deangelo grabbed me and pulled me to him. As we were kissing a man loudly cleared his throat not far from us. When we stopped kissing and looked, Dr. Stone said, "I must insist that you two refrain from doing that in here."

"Yes," I quickly agreed. "We just got carried away."

"It won't happen again," Deangelo added.

While pretending that I didn't know, I asked, "Has any of Bella's family been notified? Like her dad?"

"Her dad was killed in a skydiving accident about six… seven weeks ago, and as far as I know, Bella has no other living relatives," Dr. Stone said.

"Oh, no," I said while trying to sound sincere on my surprise of the news. "What's going to happen to her?"

"She's from the United States, and as soon as she is well enough to travel, we will hand her over to the U.S. authorities."

"Dr. Stone, my grandma… my dad's mom, is a registered foster mother… and a retired nurse in fact. And with your permission, I would like to contact her, and see if she would be willing to take Bella in. And if not, then perhaps she could help place her."

Dr. Stone nodded before saying, "Your suggestion couldn't hurt anything. So you have my permission to start that ball rolling."

I nodded with a grin before saying, "Thank you."

Dr. Stone gestured deeper into the hospital while saying, "I need to get back to my rounds."

"Oh, uh, before you leave, how soon can I visit Bella?"

"Give the hospital staff twenty-four hours to gently break the bad news about her mother, and then you can visit her." When I nodded, Dr. Stone turned and walked away.

Stephen was gone for a few minutes more and when he returned Deangelo, Stephen and I left the hospital.

Stephen and Deangelo had planned to drop me off at the art gallery, but before we had a chance to reach the police cruiser, Deangelo and I heard a young female voice—Jane's voice in fact—saying in Italian, "What are we going to do with you, Deangelo…"

Deangelo and I stopped and turned towards the voice. We immediately saw Jane, Alec and Batista on the far end of the parking lot. Stephen didn't hear Jane, but he stopped a couple of seconds after we did and looked curiously at us.

"Heidi wants you ripped apart for breaking Hilda's heart," Jane continued in Italian.

Hilda was Heidi's identical twin sister, and they have the exact same ability, which was mesmerizing humans and having those humans to follow them willingly; even if that was into a lion's den… or in Heidi's case, into the lair of the largest vampire coven in the world. They remind me of the story of the pipe piper and the mice. Also Hilda and Heidi had always had as strong mental link with each other since birth and after they became vampires that mental link had only gotten stronger. Hilda could see what Heidi was doing and vice versa while being countries apart.

Hilda was changed into a vampire first by only two days. This took place around 1000 BC and like me, Hilda was attack by a vampire for food, and once bitten, the attacking vampire was interrupted. The human-to-wolf shape-shifters from La Push were what had killed Fabian, my attacker. In Hilda's case it was the five pet tigers that Hilda's grandfather had kept for protection against the legendary vampires that he had believed in when he was told about vampires as a young boy.

Three days before Hilda was attacked the grandfather had died in some political uprising that time had long forgotten; in fact, Hilda was attacked two hours after Hilda and Heidi had buried their grandfather in the deep woods. They had the pet tigers with them during the burial only as part of the tribute.

When the venom began changing Hilda, Heidi recognized it from her grandfather's stories. Heidi couldn't bear the thought of killing Hilda during the transformation nor could she bear the thought of living without her, and so she sought out the vampires that her grandfather had warned her about.

Heidi wanted to become a vampire like Hilda was becoming and Aro was the one who she found first. At first Aro was going to kill her outright, but once he had come into contact with her, he had a hunch about her and turned her instead.

Heidi was made into a vampire, and once her newborn phase was over, she showed her gratitude by joining Aro, Marcus and Caius' coven. She found it easy to remain part of the coven as she could remotely see and experience the world through Hilda.

As the centuries passed for Hilda, Hilda had taken up the façade of prostitution as she went after the rich and politically powerful as her victims.

Two years ago though, as Hilda had her sights on a governor of some Italian region, Deangelo arrested her for prostitution. Hilda at first attempted to use her mesmerizing charm to get out of being arrested, but when she found that Deangelo was capable of resisting her allure, she attacked him instead. Deangelo had escaped after being bitten and since Hilda never gave chase, he had always felt that Hilda allowed him to escape; however, Hilda would never confess or give an explanation as to why she didn't pursue.

Hilda and Deangelo had crossed path again ten days later; seven days after his transformation as a vampire was complete. And although, Deangelo had never really loved Hilda—and I know that to be true as I was mimicking Edward's mind-reading ability when Deangelo had told me and the Cullens the story—the two became a couple. For Deangelo, it was out of convenience, but for Hilda, I think that she might've really did love him. Their relationship ended when Deangelo went to Forks, Washington to stand as a witness for the Volturis during the Volturis' march against the Cullens. A couple of weeks after that my story as a vampire began.

Stephen interrupted my reverie as he asked while following our gaze, "Do you know them, Deangelo?"

"I do," Deangelo said as I stood as a statue while glowering at Jane. "They are family friends from Italy."

"I would've thought different as to how Honey is looking harshly at them," Stephen said while causing me to break my statue pose.

As I quickly turned towards Stephen, I asked, "Do you approve of all your in-laws and wife's friends?"

Stephen grinned before saying, "Okay, point taken."

"Stephen, if you wouldn't mind, give me and Honey about fifteen minutes alone with them," Deangelo requested.

"No problem," Stephen said. "I'll go put gas in the car."

As Stephen continued towards the police cruiser, Deangelo and I walked across the parking lot towards Jane, Alec and Batista. Once I got close enough to Batista I began seeing random group meetings again. I closed my eyes for a brief time and focused on pushing those visions to the back of my mind as a background thought as I did before. When I opened my eyes I saw Jane watching me with a curious expression across her face.

As Deangelo and I were approaching the three, Jane turned towards Deangelo and said in Italian, "Give me a reason not to kill you."

"How about, he broke no laws," I shot at her in Italian. My deep American accent gave away that the Italian language was very new to me.

Jane shot me a grin and said in English, "Upsetting the Volturi house is a major crime, and Deangelo did just that when he upset Heidi."

Jane's English was much better than my Italian, so I'm assuming that Jane chose English to communicate with us so I wouldn't butcher her native language with my American accent.

"Jane, Hilda knew that I didn't love her," Deangelo began in English. "And I never pretended that I did… not even once, so it shouldn't have been a shock to Hilda or to Heidi that I decided to move on."

"That part was left out as Heidi was cursing your name," Jane confessed. "So I suppose I can't fault you for leaving the way you did then. Anyway, Honey, how much did you tell Deangelo of our earlier visit?"

"I didn't get a chance to tell him anything."

"Actually I didn't think that you had… given your activity for the past two hours," Jane said.

I shot Jane a confused looked before I accused, "You were following me."

"We were monitoring you," Jane said in a tone as if she was correcting me.

"And what gives you the right to 'monitor' me!" I quickly hissed.

Jane had scowled at me, but before she could react to me more than that, Deangelo quickly warned, "Honey! Remember who you are speaking to."

"And your place," Jane quickly added.

I glowered at Jane while insisting in an impolite tone, "I know my place and whom I'm talking to."

Jane again grinned before saying, "You are proving to be a challenge for me, and as fast as you can run I have to admit that you gave us a challenge at keeping up with you during that… 'wild-goose chase' run." I shot Jane a confused look as she continued to say, "In fact, your scent was the only thing that kept us from loosing you when you doubled back towards the town."

"What do you mean by a 'wild-goose chase' run?"

"You knew that we were trailing you, didn't you?" Alec asked. "I mean that was why you were running pointlessly."

"Pointlessly?" I confusingly uttered. "Running had always relaxed me and it relaxes me still even today."

"So you were only running to relax," Jane said in confused tone as she stared closely at me.

"It wouldn't hurt you to find a relaxing hobby," I shot at Jane. "Perhaps it would curve that venomous disposition that you have."

"I find administering pain to be very relaxing for me," Jane retorted as she stared crossly at me. "Should I attempt to relax myself now?"

"That won't be necessary," I said with a smirk.

"Then as you did at that accident scene, I suggest that you show some restraint as to how you speak to me," Jane warned.

"I guess you, Alec and Batista weren't there yet to see what I was about to do," I told her.

Again I saw Jane giving me a curious look as Alec said, "We saw, and we also heard what you said to Deangelo afterwards. Just the fact that you were able to stop yourself from feeding on those two humans was impressive."

"Thanks," I could only think to say before I saw Jane giving me a stare as if she was trying to make sense out of something. "What?"

"You didn't know we were there or even trailing you."

Again I didn't know if that was a question or a statement. After a short hesitation, I said, "I'm going to assume that, that was a question and the answer to that is 'no', I didn't know."

"We were about fifty-five meters from you in the woods near the accident scene," Jane began as she pondered aloud over the added puzzle pieces. "Much farther away than that during most of your run, and while thinking back to your past facial reaction as you stepped up, I'm now going to say that your mimicking ability began mimicking our abilities somewhere between thirty-five to forty meters."

I knew the conversion measurements from yards to meters and Jane was very close with her deduction. As I glowered at her I slightly hissed, "Your insightfulness is quite annoying."

"Insightfulness," Jane echoed while pondering a thought. "I guess for some it would appear that I would be insightful…"

"What do you call it then if you don't call it as being insightful?" I interrupted with.

"Attentiveness to details," Jane began. "Such as your body movement, the tone of your voice and me recognizing the words that you leave out as you answer my questions. And it's a skill that I picked up over the years while dealing with vampires who insist at being less than honest with me. So I could see why you would think that it would be annoying." I shot Jane a smirk, which brought an amused grin across her face.

"Jane, before my partner comes back, you should tell me what the Volturi's business is with us," Deangelo suggested.

"We know about Honey's mimicking ability and your perfect memory recall ability…" Jane was only able to get out.

"I let it slip about your memory ability and she figured out my ability on her own with her 'attentiveness to details'," I interrupted with.

Jane glared annoyingly at me as she continued in a tone as if she was telling me not to interrupt her again, "And we know about the Phoenix coven's interest in you two because of those abilities." She then continued in a normal tone, "Which gives you and Honey the perfect opportunity to get inside and gather important information for us. However, earlier Honey left us with the impression that she was going to refuse our request…"

"Let me guess, you got that from your 'attentiveness to details'," I sarcastically interrupted with.

Jane turned her ability on me, which of course brought forth the excruciating pain. I staggered back only one step this time though and as she held me within her mind controlling pain I gritted my teeth along with concentrating on the random visions that Batista's ability was giving me.

This time; however, my dad was within one of those visions and I concentrated on that particular one. In that meeting I saw that my dad was making a huge mistake as he was negotiating a merger between his architect business and one of his biggest competitors.

As I was concentrating hard on seeing that vision, I became so disconnected from Jane's mind controlling pain that I didn't realize of when Jane had released me.

After seeing several seconds of that meeting, I uttered out, "No! No! No! No!"

I was then pulled out of my vision when Deangelo put his hands on my shoulders while uttering, "Honey! Come out of it!" I came out of it and as I was looking around, I saw the curious and concern looks that everyone was giving me. "Honey?! What happened to you?"

I glanced at Jane, Alec and Batista before I said, "I saw my dad while mimicking Batista's ability. He's making a huge mistake during a merger meeting."

Jane hissed in annoyance towards me, which sounded almost like an upset cobra hissing—which I saw at a zoo one time—before she furiously uttered, "His world no longer concerns you!"

"I realize that!" I shot at her while trying to sound convincing. Jane found out too many of my secrets already. I didn't want her finding out that I've been staying in contact with my relatives from the very begin by phone, and hopefully, her 'attentiveness to details' wouldn't catch that. "It still bothers me to find out troubling news about him."

Jane slightly scowled before she warned, "Honey, I don't wish you harm, but your insolence and willful disobedience will force me into ordering your death."

"Yes, well, by all rights I should've died nine months ago when Fabian attacked me in the woods," I retorted. "Not that I want to die, mind you… in fact, I'm actually enjoying my new life. But all good things must end at some point, right?"

"Deangelo, you need to talk sense into Honey before she goes too far," Jane said while facing him.

"I will talk to her," Deangelo assured Jane.

I just annoyingly glared at Deangelo for agreeing with Jane as Jane continued strongly with, "Anyway. The information that we, the Volturis, need is when all the Phoenix members… especially its leaders, are going to meet again and where. Learning what their abilities are if any would be great help to us as well."

"I understand what you need," Deangelo again assured Jane.

Alec looked passed Deangelo and me while saying, "Your human partner is returning."

"We'll be around," Jane said.

"And 'monitoring' us apparently," I impolitely added. Jane just glared unresponsively at me.

Deangelo grabbed my hand and tugged while saying, "Let's go, Honey."

I jerked my hand from his while saying, "Don't touch me. I'm mad at you." Before Deangelo could respond I turned and walked at a quick human pace towards the approaching police cruiser.

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

Deangelo had quickly caught up with me and asked me in tone as if he was confused over my actions, "Now why are you mad at me?"

"For agreeing with Jane," I hissed. I'm sure Jane, Alec and Batista were listening, but I didn't care.

"Honey, defying Jane is just a good way at getting yourself killed, and you're actually defying her enough for the both of us and then some. It's a good thing that she likes you…"

"Likes me?" I echoed with a laugh, without humor. "If she likes me then she has a funny way of showing it."

"Honey, trust me," Deangelo began. "If she didn't like you, she would never tolerate your insolence and willful disobedience. Your death would've been ordered immediately. Now I strongly suggest that you start playing nice with Jane before she reaches the end of her tolerance with you."

"Yeah, well, I'm not interested in playing with her at all; especially in the game that she has chosen."

"That's just it, Honey, this isn't a game… and although this isn't a game, you're gambling with your life."

"Yeah, well as I told them, all good things must end at some point."

Deangelo grabbed me and stopped me from going any further. As he swung me around for me to look at him, he exclaimed, "Damn it, Honey!" I scowled at him as he continued with, "I love you. I had never had these feelings before until I met you, and if you screw around and get yourself killed, my life will die with you. Now will you live for me… for us… for us to get married?"

I was taken back by Deangelo's final five words and as I stared disbelievingly at him I asked cautiously, "Did you just ask me to… marry you?"

"I was going to do this more properly… more romantically than this, but…" Deangelo stopped talking, dropped down to one knee and took my hands in his. "Will you marry me, Honey Olivia Grey?"

In my peripheral vision I could see Jane, Alec and Batista watching us; however, from the angle that we were at, I couldn't make out their expressions and I didn't want to look. A human wouldn't have seen a pause in my response, but vampires would've noticed the slight hesitation before I answered with, "I love you too, and yes; I'll marry you."

Deangelo got to his feet at a fast human pace, grabbed me and swung me in jubilation. He took great care to maintain a human speed and as he swung me, I caught sight of the expressions on Jane's, Alex's and Batista's faces. Batista had an apparent approving grin on his face as Jane and Alec showed inklings of approving grins as well. Once the spin was over, he passionately kissed me.

Stephen drove up and honked, which caused us to stop kissing. As we turned towards him, he said, "We got a call. We have to go back to the accident scene where we found Dr. Callister and her daughter."

"Why do we have to go back there?" Deangelo asked as he and I walked towards the police cruiser.

"Eric Sumner, the tow truck driver, was once a police officer in New York City," Stephen began. "He claims that the accident looks suspicious."

"Someone killed Dr. Callister?" I gasped.

"That's hasn't been determined yet," Stephen quickly said. "The tow truck driver slash ex-police officer claims that there was something unusual about it though. So get in you two. Deangelo, once I drop Honey off at home… or at the gallery you and I have to get to work."

"I glanced in Jane's direction before I requested, "Can I tag along. I don't really feel like being alone right now."

"It's not really allowed, but… what the hell," Stephen said. "If something gets said about you being there, we'll just say that we didn't have time to drop you off. You will have to stay at the car though."

"Okay," I agreed. Deangelo opened the back door for me to get in and once I was in, Deangelo closed the door and got into the front seat. As Stephen was driving off, I asked, "So, Deangelo? Where's Batista from?"

"I've never met him before, but most likely I would say Italy," Deangelo said.

"He's not from Italy," I quickly said.

"Why do you think that?" Deangelo asked.

"I heard him speak earlier and it wasn't in Italian," I answered.

"Do you remember what he said?" Deangelo asked.

"Let me think," I said before I attempt to recall what it was.

If Deangelo wasn't with me, I would've never remembered, but since he was with me, I can relive any memory that I wanted to, which was how I was able to paint that wolf painting that caught Jane's attention earlier. Jane's 'attentiveness to details' saw that painting as one of the puzzle pieces that she used to figure out my ability.

After a second, Deangelo pulled me out of my reverie. "Honey?"

"Yes; sorry. I got lost in my thoughts," I said. Deangelo just grinned as I told him what I had heard.

"That's definitely not Italian," Deangelo said.

"It's Portuguese," Stephen said.

"You know Portuguese?" I quickly asked.

"My grandfather is actually from Portugal," Stephen said. "I learned it from him and what you said wasn't a complete statement."

"Well, someone did interrupt him as he was talking," I said.

"Ah," Stephen began. "That partial phrase was, 'those two make me want to…'"

Given the situation at the time and what Alec had said to me about hurrying the humans out of my gallery, I know what Batista was telling Jane and Alec. My human customers were making him thirsty.

"I wonder what he meant by that," Stephen continued to say.

I slightly hesitated before lying with, "No telling."

Within a few minutes, we were once again on the side of the road near where the accident had occurred. I knew that the blood smell was going to still be there so I prepared myself on keeping my primal mind subdued.

Once Stephen came to a stop, Stephen and Deangelo opened their doors to get out. I attempted to open my door, but since I was in a police cruiser, the door-latch did nothing to open the door.

"Ah, sweetie, open the door for me," I requested before Deangelo had gotten too far.

Deangelo shot me a smug grin before saying, "You are supposed to stay at the car anyway."

"I will stay at the car, but I still want out," I told him. I then whispered at vampire speed, "Of course I could tear the door off its hinges."

Stephen looked around, most likely trying to figure out what that momentary buzzing was. Deangelo just grimaced at me as he went to open my door.

As Deangelo was opening my door, Stephen asked, "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" I asked. I knew very well what he was talking about though.

"It was a… a high-pitch humming sound," Stephen said as I was getting out of the car.

"I didn't hear anything," Deangelo said as he gave me a look as if to say, 'Don't do that again.'

I smugly smirked at Deangelo while saying, "You need to get your hearing check, Stephen. I think you're hearing things."

"That's just it," Stephen said. "I can hear better than most people. In fact, I can hear tones that most people can't hear, but certain animal's can."

"That's good to know about you, Stephen," I could only think to say; which means that I have to be extra careful around you.

"Stay here," Deangelo told me as my attention was momentarily drawn to a man wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit who had stepped into view from climbing the hill. Most likely he was Eric Sumner.

I took what Deangelo had said as an order, and as I saluted him I said in an annoyed tone, "Yes, Sir."

"Please wait here," he amended in a requesting tone.

I slightly grinned before saying, "Yes, I'll wait here." Deangelo nodded with a grinned before he and Stephen walked towards Eric.

As Deangelo, Stephen and Eric disappeared down the hill towards the SUV I strolled over to the edge of the road to listen as I did earlier. I figured Jane, Alec and Batista would be monitoring us, so as the minutes passed, I would occasionally look around for them as well.

Eric spoke at a volume louder than the average person, so most likely he was hard of hearing, which was most likely the reason he was no longer a New York police officer. His loud voice didn't matter though. I was still able to hear Stephen and Deangelo well enough as they spoke at a normal volume.

Eric was pointing out to Deangelo and Stephen that Dr. Callister had hit something very recent, which was probably the cause of the accident. There was no fur or blood on the bumper, so Eric doesn't think it was an animal or a human. No paint was left behind so he doesn't believe that it was another vehicle either; which that actually eliminated most things that could have caused that accident.

As the three continued their investigation at the SUV I looked over the area up here. I didn't notice the skid marks before, but then again I wasn't actually looking for them either.

I walked over to where the marks were and looked around. On the opposite side of where Dr. Callister had gone off the road, I could see broken branches within the nearby bushes and trees. I went over to the bushes and looked around. As a detective, I was lousy. Jane would have probably figured it out immediately, but it took me a lot longer to realize that I needed to use my sense of smell rather than my sense of sight.

As I decided to use my sense of smell around the bushes and trees, I got whiff of a very faint fragrance of honey and lilac… a common fragrance with all vampires, and the trail went deeper in a direction that I wasn't at earlier.

So there was another vampire… or other vampires in the area other than me, Deangelo, Jane, Alec and Batista. Of course I was only assuming that there were other vampires in the area since Deangelo was at work all day, and Jane, Alec and Batista were trailing me when the accident occurred.

My curiosity had wanted me to follow the scent and see where it had led, but my sense of self-preservation won out hands down. After I worriedly stared into the direction of where the scent was heading, I turned around and walked towards the police cruiser.

When I reached the road again, Deangelo and Stephen were walking towards the police cruiser as well. Deangelo was shaking his head and grinning as he saw me coming out of the trees.

I reached the police cruiser before they did and as they stepped up, Stephen said, "Wandering in the woods is not staying at the car."

I shrugged with a grin before saying, "Nature called and I couldn't wait."

I saw Deangelo looking at me as if to ask, "What crazy thing were you really up to this time?"

As I continued to give Deangelo a smug grin, Stephen said, "Oh, congratulation." My grin quickly disappeared and was replaced with a confused expression. "Deangelo just told me about him proposing and you accepting."

"Oh," I said as my grin returned. Deangelo must've said something during my investigation up here.

"So do you have an idea of when it might be?" Stephen asked

"Not yet, but I also haven't had a chance yet to talk to my wedding planner either."

"Oh, you're going with a wedding planner?" Stephen questioned.

"Well, the person I'm going to ask to plan the wedding isn't a wedding planner per se, but I think she would be hurt if I don't ask her."

"Alice?" Deangelo asked in a tone as if my verbal answer was only a formality.

"You know it," I said with a grin. "She's actually the best party planner I know. So good, in fact, that I don't understand why she doesn't start up her own business as a wedding planner."

"We're through here," Stephen said. "Your fiancé and I will drop you off at the gallery."

I grinned while staring delightfully at Deangelo and saying, "Sounds good." Of course the part that sounded good to me was him being my fiancé. Deangelo opened my door and I climbed in. Once Deangelo and Stephen were in, I asked, "So could you determine what caused the accident?"

"Sorry, Honey, but this is an official investigation," Stephen said. "And we can't discuss that with you."

"Which means that you think that there's something to investigate," I said.

Stephen slightly laughed before saying, "Yes, but that's all I can say."

"Okay," I said. Of course Deangelo will tell me his thoughts on the accident later when Stephen isn't around to hear.

Stephen began a casual conversation about one of the CSI shows, which I really couldn't care less about, but I sat quietly and listened to his ramblings.

When Stephen pulled up in front of the art gallery, Deangelo got out and opened the back door for me to get out.

Once I was out, I asked Deangelo, "Walk me to the door?" Deangelo gave me a curious look. I gave Stephen a quick glance. "There's something I want to tell you."

Deangelo faced Stephen before saying, "I'll be back in a second." Stephen just nodded.

I took out the store key from my pocket as Deangelo and I walked towards the front door. Once Deangelo was certain that we were out of Stephen's earshot he asked, "So what do you have to tell me?"

"I noticed broken branches near where Dr. Callister went off the road," I said just before we reached the front door. I stood at the door without trying to open it. "As I was in the trees and bushes I caught a scent of a vampire."

Deangelo grinned before saying, "Yes, Dr. Callister hit a vampire. His or her scent is all over the front of the SUV. I didn't notice it earlier because I wasn't looking for it earlier."

"That was pretty stupid of him or her not to dodge that SUV."

"Honey, there are only two reasons why a vampire would get hit by a moving vehicle," Deangelo began. I just gave him a focused stare. "A newborn vampire would do it in an attempt to commit suicide; which of course that would never work, but a newborn would have to learn that the hard way. The second reason would be to purposely cause an accident and then the vampire would feed on the victims."

"So since the vampire didn't feed, it was a newborn," I surmised aloud.

"Possible; however, it is also possible that you came along before the vampire had a chance to feed. You might not want to hear this, but causing accidents and feeding on its victims was Fabian's trademark."

"The Cullens told me that Fabian was running with two others," I began. "One was captured and killed in Forks several minutes before I was bitten by Fabian and the second one came here to Canada. Could it have been Fabian's second cohort that caused the accident?"

"Liana was Fabian's second cohort and that wasn't Liana's scent at the accident scene," Deangelo said. My thoughts wandered to the second set of nomadic vampires that I had met while living in my current town. "Causing…"

"Wait, a minute," I uttered. "She's Andrew's handler. Right?"

"Yes, and as I was about to say, causing accidents isn't even Liana's… thing."

"Perhaps Liana was telling one of her new cohorts about what Fabian had done in the past, and one of those cohorts decided to try it."

"That's actually a reasonable assumption," Deangelo said with a grin. "We'll make a detective out of you yet."

Prior to becoming a vampire, jumping into erroneous conclusions was one of my bad habits. In fact, three years and almost ten months ago—days before my seventeenth birthday on January 1st—I almost broke up with Owen, my boyfriend at the time, for jumping to a wrong conclusion when I saw him and my best friend Melissa in a jewelry story together while acting much like a couple. Melissa and I had the same taste in jewelry and our ring size were the same, so Melissa was only helping to pick out a birthday gift for me. And just as I was about to break up with Owen over what I had seen, Owen presented me the ring that he and Melissa had conspired to get for me. Today though, those erroneous conclusions tend to give strength to my primal mind, which could lead into a more destructive action then almost breaking up with a boyfriend, and so now I try to think things through logically before jumping to any conclusions. So for Deangelo to praise one of my theories was a great achievement in itself.

A grin came across my face for his praise before I asked, "Could it have been Andrew who got hit by the SUV?"

Deangelo grimaced slightly while saying, "And yet we are so far at making you into a tracker."

I shot him a confused look before asking, "What?!"

"Like fingerprints and snowflakes, vampires' scents are unique and if you put forth the effort on learning the individual scent, you would…"

"Yeah-yeah-yeah. You, Emmett and Jasper told me all this before," I interrupted with. "If I learn the vampires' unique scents then I would be able to identify a vampire in the area without laying eyes on him or her, which I couldn't care less at learning everyone's scent."

"And yet, you would've known that Andrew wasn't the one who got hit by Dr. Callister's SUV if you had cared more about it," Deangelo smugly pointed out.

I shot him a smirk before telling him, "You should really go back to work now." Deangelo smiled before giving me a kiss that lasted long enough for Stephen to start blowing the horn. I glanced at Stephen before saying, "You're partner is getting impatient."

"And that's his trademark," Deangelo said with a slight grin. "I'll see you later."

"Oh, do you want your cell phone back?" I asked before he had a chance to walk away.

As I unclipped the phone from my pants, he said, "Sure, and take yours next time you're out. Please?" I just nodded with a grin.

He then gave me a quick kiss and took the phone at the same time. Once the kiss was over, he backed away from me.

When I waved 'bye' he turned toward the police cruiser. I then turned towards the door and opened it. I glanced back towards Deangelo just before I continued into the gallery. Once inside I locked it behind me.

I went to the store phone, picked it up and dialed it.

"Hello," an unfamiliar young male voice with an English accent answered the phone after the third ring.

After a slight hesitation I said, "I'm sorry, but I think I dialed the wrong number."

"Wait, are you calling for Olivia Grey?"

"Yes, who's this?"

"I'm Jason Walker…"

"Oh, no way," I uttered delightfully. "It's been… twelve years since I had seen you last. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing good. Who are you?"

"Oh, right," I said with a slight laugh. "I'm, Honey."

"Uncle Kenneth and Aunt Megan's youngest child, right?"

"Right. I guess you wouldn't remember me since you were two when you and your family moved to London. You're fourteen now, right?"

"I'm sixteen actually and I was three when we moved to London."

"Okay. So are you visiting, or did you and your family moved back to the States?"

"I'm back," Jason said sullenly. "My parents and brother are still in London."

"Okay, what's going on?" I quickly asked.

Jason hesitated before he answered, "Mom and dad don't like my friends and they sent me here in order to get me away from them."

"Ah," I said just as I heard a light thud on the window. When I looked, I saw Chloe Bones looking in while as if she was looking for any signs of life. "Jason, can you hold on for a second?"

"Of course."

I put the phone down and walked towards the front door. Chloe saw me as she was looking through the window and waited at the door for me to open it.

Once the door was open, she questioned in a confused tone, "You're closed?"

"Yes, but only because a few of Deangelo's friends from Italy are visiting. Come in though."

Chloe gestured towards her vehicle before saying, "I have a painting to get out of the car."

I nodded while saying, "I have my cousin waiting for me to get back to the phone, so let yourself in and lock the door behind you."

"Will do," Chloe said before we went our respective ways.

I went back to the phone and once I put the phone to my ear, I said, "Okay, Jason, I'm back."

"It's me, Livi," my grandma said.

"So, Grandma, is Jason living with you now?"

"He is."

"Hmm. You have three bedrooms though, right?"

"I do. What's going on?"

"I was out for a run earlier and I came upon an accident scene where a woman and her daughter were seriously injured. The daughter is recovering at the hospital, but her mother died shortly after getting to the hospital."

"Honey, did you…"

My cousin must be in earshot because my grandma cut off what she was about to say. I knew what it was though and so I continued with, "Almost. The smell of all that blood was so overwhelming that I desperately wanted to… I didn't though. Anyway, the girl is ten years old… at least she looks ten. Her name is Isabella Callister and in spite of her being here in British Columbia she is a U.S. citizen. She's now an orphan with no living relatives and as soon as she is well enough to travel, she will be deported back to the United States. Since you are a registered foster mother, I was thinking that you could take her in…. so she wouldn't get lost in the system."

"Of course I could petition for Isabella to come live with me, Livi, but just because I'm a registered foster mother doesn't mean that it will happen," my grandma explained.

"Can you?" I practically begged. "Petition for her?"

"I can tell by the tone of your voice that this is important to you," my grandma began. "But why is it so important to you, Livi?"

"I feel guilty for losing control as I did, and although I stopped myself before I did do something, I still feel like I need to make it up to her. And yes, I know how silly it sounds."

"I wasn't thinking that it was silly," my grandma assured me. "Out of curiosity, what stopped you?"

"The mother was conscious and trapped when I happened upon the accident. She couldn't see me, but she heard me outside and she begged me to help her daughter, Bella. As you know, Bella Cullen was the one who kept me lucid after I was turned, so hearing the name Bella was a magical trigger for me. I regained myself control, and I did what I could to help the two."

"I'm proud of you, Livi."

"Thanks," I said sullenly as Chloe was stepping in with her painting. "I feel bad that I couldn't do more to save Bella's mom though."

Chloe heard me and gave me a curious look, as my grandma said proudly, "Because you're still a compassionate person. Back when I worked with Carlisle Cullen, he would also be bothered during the times that he couldn't save someone. I'm very glad… ecstatic even, that it was his family that you found during your transition."

"I'll let him know. He'll be happy to hear that." Chloe casually walked towards me while carrying her painting.

"Anyway, Livi, I'll do what I can to help Bella,"

"Thanks, grandma. I need to go."

"I'll talk to you later; bye."

"Bye," I said before hanging up.

"I don't mean to intrude on a private conversation between you and your grandma, but… what happened to Bella's mom? Whoever Bella is."

While omitting the fact that I'm a vampire and that I almost fed on Bella and her mother, I repeated on how I found the accident scene and on how Bella's mom didn't survive.

"My god," Chloe said while cringing after hearing the story.

"My grandma is a foster mother, and so I asked her to petition on being Bella's foster mother, which she said that she will. That's when you walked in."

"Well, I hope things go well for Bella."

"Me too," I said. "Anyway, changing the subject to a more pleasant topic, Deangelo asked me to marry him."

Chloe gave me a pleasant grin while asking, "And you said?"

"Yes," I answered. "And that is as far as we got, so needless to say no date was set."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but… you didn't tell your grandma?"

"I have to talk to someone first before I say anything to any of my relatives," I said "In fact, before I saw you at the window, I had planned to call her after I had gotten off the phone with my grandma."

"You can still do it, and afterwards… since you're closed, you can come to the mall with me," Chloe said in a tone as if she was giving me no choice. She then smirked.

I grinned and as I shook my head I said, "Fine. I'll go with you." I then picked up the phone again and dialed it.

Alice picked up the phone on the first ring, while saying, "Hi, Honey."

"Hi, Alice." Alice would know why I was calling, but because Chloe was standing a few feet from me I added a lot more enthusiasm to my voice than necessary as I continued to say, "Deangelo and I are getting married."

Alice giggled before saying, "You're acting skills are improving."

"Thanks." I then—as if she didn't know why I was calling—continued to say, "And I want you to organize and orchestrate it?"

"Of course I will, Honey…" Alice said in tone as if there was an unsaid 'but' at the end.

"Did I detect a concern in your voice?" Chloe shot me a curious look.

"I don't want to concern you, Honey, but…" Alice got out before sighing. "Something is causing me to get a blind-spot with you as soon as you and your artist friends get to the mall." I only know of two reasons why she would get blind-spots during her visions. "It may be nothing, but be careful."

"Should I avoid… such activity?" I glanced over at Chloe and saw that her curiosity had deepened.

"No-no, don't do that," Alice assured me. "That would hurt your friend's feelings. And just because I'm getting a blind-spot with you, doesn't really mean that something bad is going to happen."

"Alright, well, I call you later, bye."

"Bye."

As I was hanging up, Chloe asked, "Is something going on?"

I slightly hesitated for a moment, before I asked, "Do you have an open mind?"

Chloe stared curiously at me before she said cautiously, "Yeah."

"Alice, the person I was talking to knows things… or see things by psychic means would be a more accurate description and when she doesn't see things she gets slightly worried," I began. Chloe's stare changed from curious to concern. "She sees us going to the mall, but once we're there, she doesn't see my future passed that, which actually doesn't really point to anything bad. She gets blind-spots with her psychic ability from time to time and most of the time nothing bad comes from it. In most cases it just points to a choice that hasn't been made at a crossroad event."

Chloe continued to give me a concerned look before she asked, "So you're not telling me this to get out of going to the mall with me?"

"Not at all," I assured her. "I actually do want to go, and we can go as soon as I get my purse."

"Do you want to see this painting first?" Chloe asked as I moved towards the cubbyhole that I had my purse in.

"Sure," I said as I was getting my purse.

Once I had my purse, I put it over my shoulder and then stepped next to her to admire her latest painting.

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

The mall that Chloe and I went to was twenty-five minutes of highway driving and another eight minutes of driving at less than thirty miles per hour away from my art gallery. What Alice had said about having a blind-spot within her vision was already forgotten by the time we had gotten there. Within another forty-five minutes, Chloe and I went to three shops and we had bought a few things that didn't really total up to much.

We were leaving our fourth shop—a video store—with a few new-release movies when my senses shot into overdrive even for a vampire.

With my added hyperawareness, I could count—if I wanted to—the hundreds of heartbeats inside the mall. The heartbeats weren't what caught my attention though, which I controlled the urge to look and continued as if nothing had caught my attention. What caught my attention was the body heat of eleven individuals and their mass sizes that were circling me. Six of the eleven were adults and cold, and the remaining five—which were with five of the six of the cold individuals—were infant size and needed-to-be-placed-in-a-tub-of-ice feverishly hot.

"…I'm telling you that you're going to love that movie," Chloe was telling me when the eleven individuals had caught my attention.

"Hold that thought," I quickly told Chloe as I got my phone out of my purse.

Chloe shot me a curious look before asking, "Who are you calling?"

"My mom," I told her—lied actually—as I pressed the send button. "I just remembered that she wanted me to pick up something for her the next time I went to the mall, but I can't remember what that was. "

On the second ring, Esme picked up with the traditional, "Hello."

"Hi, mom," I began before I told Esme where I was.

"Honey?" Esme questioned curiously—most likely because I had never called her 'mom' before.

"Yes, Mom," I confirmed. "While here at the mall, a few infants had caught my attention that reminded me very much of my very intelligent niece, and then it occurred to me that you wanted me to pick something up for you. And of course with my poor memory, mom, I can't remember what that was."

"How many infants?" Esme asked in a tone as if she understood what I was saying.

I glanced at my watch before saying, "Five."

Chloe glanced at her watched before whispering, "It's passed five."

I nodded to Chloe with a slight grin as I continued to say to Esme, "Mom, I don't have Cousin Jane's phone number either and after thinking it over, I think I was slightly unfair to her the last time we spoke. Could you call her for me and let her know that."

"I'll see what I can do," Esme said.

"Thanks, mom. I'll talk to you soon."

"Bye," Esme said before we both hung up.

As I went to put the phone back into my purse, Chloe asked, "So what did your mom what you to get?"

"She told me not to worry about it," I answered. "She'll pick it up when she'll go out later. Anyway, at five o'clock… two hours before us… or would it be behind us? Anyway, I need you to drive me home and after I get there, I need to go to the airport and pick someone up." Chloe stared curiously at me as I continued with. "And since our shopping trip is being cut short, we can come back tomorrow."

Chloe continued to stare curiously at me, while saying, "Don't take this the wrong way, Honey, but you're acting strangely."

I grinned before saying, "I can understand why you would say that, but I do need to get to the airport."

"Alright," Chloe said as she skeptically stared at me. "Let's go to the airport."

"Well, I wasn't meaning for you to take me."

"I have no problems with taking you."

"Okay," I told her. I'll come up with something once we're out of these vampires' sights.

As Chloe and I were making our way towards the mall entrance to leave, I kept from looking in the direction of a vampire. The vampire whose hyperawareness ability I was mimicking kept a distance from us that would cause the ability to come and go within seconds of each other, so I knew that we were definitely being followed. To top it off, as I would mimic that one vampire's ability, I could sense that three of the six vampires were coming around while trying to cut us off from the mall entrance.

As Chloe and I were walking in a direction of an emergency exit near one of the restrooms, I told Chloe, "I'll explain later, but follow me… quickly."

As I continued at a quick human pace, Chloe asked while following, "What's going on? Did you shoplift or something?"

"I didn't shoplift," I simply answered.

The emergency door had an alarm warning on it and just as we were reaching it, Bernard said in his French-Italian accent, "You don't want to do that, Ms. Grey."

Bernard was the first handler I met since Deangelo and I moved to Canada. He was born and raised in Paris and became a professor of archeology at the age of twenty-eight. He took a teaching job in one of Italy's finest universities at the age of thirty. At the age of thirty-five—which was thirty years ago—he and one of his students followed a clue of some relic that led them to the Volturis. The Volutris turned him, but killed his student without a second thought. He held a grudge against the Volturis since.

I stopped at the door, and after I faced Bernard I said, "You can't do anything once I trigger the alarm and alert the security and the local police."

Bernard took out a radio from a holder on his belt and said while speaking into the radio, "Silence all emergency exit alarms."

"Copy that," a voice came over a radio.

"You're one of the mall security officers?" I questioned.

"I am," he said as he walked towards me at a cautious pace. "And so is Sophie and Liana. And those two are coming around as we speak and will meet you outside that door, if you choose to go through it."

"Honey, what's going on?" Chloe demanded to know.

"Bernard here… as with Sophie and Liana, is a rebel," I simply said. "There's this… I guess it would be a nation-like organization that he and his group are planning to overthrow… which I want no part of."

"Yes, well, Ms. Grey, things became a little bit more complicated than you not wanting to join us," Bernard said as he stepped up.

"How so?" I asked while folding my arms across my chest.

"You discovered one of our outposts," Bernard said while indicating the mall.

"Just uproot and leave," I strongly suggested.

"We have a sweet operation here and uprooting it would cause headaches," Bernard began. "It would be a lot simpler to eliminate the two of you. Unfortunately, I'm not the one who can make that decision, and the one who does, wants to meet you and your friend…"

"Wait, you're not one of the Phoenix founders?" I quickly questioned in a confused tone.

"No," Bernard answered. "You can consider me as one of the ranking generals. Now if you two would be so kind as to follow me."

"I'll go with you, but let my friend go," I demanded.

"Ms. Grey, I think my politeness had left you with a false impression," Bernard began. "The only choice that you and your friend have is to either follow me willingly or by force."

"Honey, we should go with him," Chloe strongly suggested.

"Listen to your wise friend, Ms. Grey," Bernard said.

"My name is, Chloe Bones," she quickly shot at Bernard.

Bernard grinned before saying, "Well, Ms. Bones. You and Ms. Grey are to follow me." I just stood still with my arms crossed as if I was daring him to move me himself. Bernard just shook his head with a grin before he turned and walked away. "Being headstrong isn't going to get you or your friend anywhere, Ms. Grey."

Bernard never looked back to see if we were going to follow him or not. Chloe immediately took one stepped to follow, and when she glanced back at me, I dropped my stubborn pose and followed also.

It became apparent that I didn't know who the Phoenix leaders were, and I was curious enough to find out who they were without being dragged in front of one by force.

As Bernard was leading Chloe and me to… who knows where, Marcus and Andrew came up and walked a few steps behind us.

I shot Marcus a confused look soon as I discovered that the hyperawareness ability that I was mimicking was his ability. I had only met Marcus once before while Deangelo and I were out hunting, and since there was no one around, I wouldn't have noticed this part of his ability.

As I stared curiously at Marcus while pondering my thoughts, Marcus annoyingly hissed, "What?!"

I slightly shook my head before asking, "Before becoming a part of this motley bunch, what did you do?"

"You're seriously trying to make small talk with me?!" Marcus uttered as if my question had annoyed him.

I shrugged while saying, "I'm just trying to pass the time. I guess I could sing 'a thousand bottles of beer on the wall' instead."

"We're taking you two to a storeroom, Ms. Grey, and it's not that far," Bernard informed me. "So there's no need for small talk or annoying songs in order to pass the time."

"I could always choose a song that is less annoying," I jokingly suggested.

"Please just walk in silence, Ms. Grey," Bernard requested; except it was an order and not a request.

"Not even one?" I again jokingly asked.

"Honey, please don't antagonize our captors?" Chloe requested.

"But there are so few pleasures left that I can do," I jokingly said.

"Honey, please?" Chloe begged. "I would like to get out of this in one piece if I could."

"That's…" I got out before stopping myself from saying the words, 'not going to happen'. Chloe doesn't really need to worry about the inevitable until the inevitable is unavoidable. "Okay, I'll be nice."

"Thank you," Chloe said with a slight relief in her voice.

Bernard led Chloe and me though two rooms before Bernard, Chloe and I reached our designated room. Marcus and Andrew didn't follow us in.

There were two males in the room. The first one I saw was a Mexican looking vampire with an average height and of course god-like beauty. The second individual wasn't a vampire though and he stood behind the first while towering over the vampire by almost a foot. He had short light brown hair and facial features that suggest that he had a Native American ancestry along with other nationalities. As to how tall and feverish he was along with his stench, I was certain… in fact, I was positive that he was a descendant of the Quileute and that he too was a human-to-wolf shape-shifter.

I shot the shape-shifter a curious look while asking, "Aren't you running with the wrong crowd?"

"What do you mean?" the shape-shifter asked.

"You're an eagle flying with night ravens," I told him. Chloe shot me a curious look. With my poor analogy she would have most likely gave me that same look even if she knew what I was talking about.

"You don't know anything about me," the shape-shifter insisted.

"I know more about you than you think," I retorted. "What I don't know is if you're more related to the Blacks, the Clearwaters, the Uleys or the…"

"My mother's maiden name was Uley," he interrupted with. "How did you know that?"

"You have distinctive attributes," I answered. "And you're not alone with having those attributes."

"Enough!" the leading vampire ordered. As I suspected, his accent was Spanish.

"Are you scared for him to know the truth?" I shot at the vampire.

The vampire chuckled and as he stared at Chloe he said, "That is a strange question coming from you."

I glanced towards Chloe before saying, "That's different."

"Is it?" he asked.

"What's going on, Honey?" Chloe demanded to know. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Tell her, Honey, or I will," the vampire challenged.

"Chloe is an innocent, and if you let her go I'll join you… whoever you are."

"My name is Ernesto Rodriquez, and letting Chloe go isn't an option," he said. "What is an option is her joining us or dying."

"You and the rest of the Phoenix group want to take down the Volturis, but where I'm standing you're no better," I hissed.

"Sure we are," Ernesto said. "The Volturis hardly ever gives someone a choice."

"Honey! What's going on?!" Chloe again demanded to know.

When I hesitated to answer, Ernesto hissed, "Tell her!"

I stared annoyingly at Ernesto for a moment before I faced Chloe and said, "The Volturis and these Phoenix members… except for Uley here…"

"Cornelius Lawrence," he interrupted with.

I gave him a curious look before I continued to say, "Except for Cornelius, who is something different entirely,"—Cornelius acted a little apprehensive when I hinted to the fact that I knew what he was—"everyone is a vampire."

"Honey, it's time to be serious," Chloe insisted. "What's going on?"

"I am serious," I assured her.

"You want me to believe that these people are vampires?" Chloe incredulously questioned. I nodded. "Vampires, as in drinking blood, sleeping in coffins, having no reflection, burnt by crosses, wooden stakes through the heart…"

"Yes, but don't believe what you see in the movies," I began. "Vampires do have reflections. Garlic, holy items, wooden stakes, and direct sunlight are not harmful to vampires. And vampires never sleep."

As Chloe incredulously stared at me, Ernesto added, "And she knows this because she too is a vampire."

"I don't kill or feed on humans," I quickly assured Chloe. Chloe shot me an apprehensive look, but she didn't fearfully back away as I suspected that she would.

"Then what do you feed on?" Cornelius genuinely asked.

"Mostly, elk and dear, and once I fed on a bear," I answered. "Mountain lions would be a source of blood for me too, but I have never crossed path with one yet."

"You had never fed on a human before, even during your newborn phase?" Ernesto asked.

I slightly chuckled before I said, "No, and technically, I am still a newborn."

"You're a newborn?" Ernesto incredulously questioned.

"She is," Bernard confirmed. "As a vampire, she's barely nine-months-old."

"Help a newcomer out," Chloe interrupted. "What's a newborn?"

"Newborn is what you call a vampire during his or her first year after being turned into a vampire. And I was turned exactly nine months ago in Forks, Washington."

"Fascinating," Ernesto began. "I handled newborns all the time in Mexico and I had never encountered one who could resist the temptation of going after a human."

"The Cullens, the vampire family who came to my aid, also don't drink human blood. They are the ones to help me through my newborn phase without me killing or hurting anyone."

"Still, such control is remarkable," Ernesto marveled over. "Tell me, have you ever almost lost control."

I slightly hesitated before answering honestly, "If you had asked me that twelve hours ago… actually not even that long, I would have answered, 'no', but…"

"What happened less than twelve hours ago?" Ernesto asked.

"I happened across an accident scene and when I smelled the blood, my self control took a nose dive; however, I was able to regain control of my senses before I done something I regretted." I faced Bernard. "After the victims were taken to the hospital, Deangelo determined that the accident was caused by a vampire getting hit by the vehicle. Was the vampire in question a member of the Phoenix?"

Before Bernard could answer, Ernesto insisted, "I'll ask the questions." I saw a hint of recognition of what I was saying on Bernard's face before I turned towards Ernesto. "And what I'm most curious to know is what ability… or abilities do you have."

I shrugged before saying, "None that I'm aware of."

"Yes, well, Marcus has a hypersensitive awareness ability," Ernesto began. "He can sense things that a normal vampire can't and he claims that you have an ability."

"Really," I attempted to sound sincere at the surprise of learning that I had an ability. "Did he say what it was?"

"Unfortunately he can only sense when an ability is present, but he can't sense what that ability is," Ernesto said.

"When you say ability, you mean, what?" Chloe interrupted.

"After the transformation from human to vampire an individual vampire could find him or herself with a certain ability," I explained. "Edward Cullen can read minds, which would be so cool if I had that." Of course I find Edward's mind-reading ability more annoying than cool, but most people would think of it as being cool at first. I turned towards Ernesto as I continued to say, "Jasper Whitlock has the…"

"Jasper Whitlock?" Ernesto quickly questioned. "You know Jasper Whitlock?"

"Yes," I quickly said with a pleasing grin across my face. "Being that you are from Mexico and that you dealt with newborns, I had a feeling that you two might've crossed paths before. And he goes by Jasper Hale now, and he's currently part of the 'non-killing human' Cullen family."

"I understand now why you're not acting like a newborn should," Ernesto said. "Jasper's ability is controlling emotions and he has a way at tempering newborns' emotions."

"Yes," I quickly agreed; although, Jasper's ability wasn't why I had never acted like a newborn. I wasn't about to tell him that though.

"Nonetheless, Marcus ensures me that you… and even Deangelo have abilities and I find it hard to believe that you don't know what those abilities are," Ernesto quickly said.

"Oh, I can tell you what Deangelo's ability is," I quickly said. "But it won't do the Phoenix coven any good as they go after the Volturis."

When I didn't immediately volunteer to say what it was Ernesto asked, "So, what is it?"

"Deangelo is capable of perfect memory recall," I began. I saw Chloe pondering a thought as I continued to say, "In fact, he's capable of reliving events in his head as if those events were happening all over again."

Chloe had formed her mouth as if she was going to speak, but stopped herself while shaking her head.

Ernesto saw Chloe's actions too, but ignored it while saying, "And you claim to have no clue as to what your ability is."

I shrugged before I said, "Sorry, I wish I did."

Ernesto grinned before saying, "I think you do know and to prove it, I'm going to introduce you to Arthur." I gave Ernesto a curious look as he turned towards Bernard. "Go get Sylvia and Arthur."

Bernard nodded and as he walked towards the door, I asked, "Not to spoil the surprise, but what are Sylvia and Arthur going to do to me?"

Ernesto smugly grinned before saying, "As a human Arthur's mind had never develop pass the age of ten and he had always had the overwhelming compulsion to tell the absolute truth. He was turned into a vampire slightly more than two years ago at the age of twenty-three, and when he asks someone a question that someone can't resist from answering and answering truthfully, except for his sister Sylvia. Sylvia is the only one I know of who can resist answering Arthur's questions or even answering truthfully if she chose to answer his questions."

"And Sylvia is also coming with him?" I asked—hoping actually.

"She is," Ernesto began. "Because of Arthur's mental condition, he will forever have the mentality of a newborn vampire, and Sylvia is the only one who can control him." Ernesto looked at Chloe. "Of course humans in the room will make that a challenge for Sylvia."

"Letting Sylvia go will solve that little dilemma," I strongly suggested.

Ernesto grinned before saying, "That's not one of the options; however, Chloe, I do suggest, that you stand next to Cornelius."

"Earlier I got the impression that Cornelius isn't quite human, and before I stand next to him, I would like to know what he is, if he's not a human or a vampire," Chloe said.

"Werewolf," Cornelius simply said before anyone else could respond.

"Shape-shifter actually," I corrected. Cornelius shot me a curious look. "Wolf to human and back again shape-shifter."

"You say that as if there's a distinction," Cornelius said.

"There is," I began. "A true werewolf can only change by the light of the full moon as it depicts in the movies. You on the other hand can change at will or unwillingly when you are extremely pissed off at someone. You also look to be an adult, but if you are anything like your cousins, I'm going to say that you are between the age of thirteen and eighteen. And these changes that you had undergone occurred just after meeting the members of the Phoenix coven. How am I doing so far?"

"Damn good actually," Cornelius admitted. "How do you know all of this?"

"Your Native American ancestors are from the Quileute tribe and…" I was only able to get out.

"Enough!" Ernesto ordered.

"Enough?" I echoed. "You had insisted that I tell Chloe the truth about me, but you don't want me to educate Cornelius what he is. Are you scared for him to know why his wolf transformation was even activated?"

"I change because I'm cursed," Cornelius guessed aloud.

"Is that what he's been telling you?" I asked while gesturing towards Ernesto. "Because it's not true; you're not cursed, and your La Push cousins find it to be an honor to be chosen as the protectors."

"Protectors against what?" Ernesto was the one to ask.

I grinned before saying, "Protectors against us vampires. Meeting the members of the Phoenix coven is what activated the wolf in him, and his job is to do what he can to keep his territory safe from any threats that would harm the locals… which incidentally would be us."

"Fascinating," Ernesto shot act me. "But one shape-shifter can't fight a coven; plus he's part of our group."

"Hence, my earlier comment," I told him.

"How do you know all this if vampires and shape-shifters are supposed to be enemies?" Cornelius asked.

"As I said earlier, the Cullens and I don't feed on humans, and because we don't feed on humans, there's actually a peace agreement with us and your La Push cousins."

"That's enough!" Ernesto insisted. "And Chloe, you really don't want to be standing anywhere near the door when Sylvia and Arthur arrive."

"Cornelius' instincts will be to protect you, Chloe, so standing next to him is the safest place for you," I added. "Plus his… his 'aroma' is actually an unpleasant scent for us vampires… no offence, Cornelius." Cornelius just smirked, which brought an amused grin across my face as I continued with, "so it will most likely mask your human scent."

Chloe nodded before saying, "Okay." She then moved next to Cornelius.

"Do you have any brothers, Cornelius?" I asked.

"Enough small talk," Ernesto ordered as he overlapped the tail end of my latest question.

"Yes, well…" I was only able to get out before Sylvia and Arthur came walking through the door.

Ernesto said earlier that Arthur was twenty-three when he was changed into a vampire and he looked it. Sylvia's age wasn't mentioned though and physically she looked to be seventeen… possibly eighteen.

Soon after the two had stepped in, Arthur got a whiff of Chloe's residual scent near the door and questioned delightfully, "Where's the human? I want to feed too."

Sylvia caught sight of Chloe, and most likely heard her heartbeat. She scowled slightly in Chloe's direction before she told Arthur, "It's not time to feed, sweetie."

"But I want to feed, Sylvia," Arthur whined. "You never let me feed when I want to feed."

"Arthur," Ernesto said to grab his attention. When Arthur looked, Ernesto continued as he gestured towards me, "Arthur, this is Honey Grey…"

"Honey?" Arthur echoed while chuckling. "Oh, Boy, Honey. That's what Tiggers like best."

I slightly grinned before saying, "You like Winnie the Pooh."

"Yeah-yeah, I do," Arthur enthusiastically said.

"Arthur!" Ernesto uttered to reclaim control. He quickly faced Ernesto again. "Arthur, I need you to ask Honey a question or two."

"What do you want me to ask her?" Arthur asked.

"Ask what her ability is," Ernesto said.

"You have an ability?" Arthur enthusiastically asked me.

I just shrugged while saying, "So I've been told."

"What is your ability?" Arthur asked.

With Sylvia in the room, I found it easy to answer with a shrug along with the words, "I have no idea."

"Ask her again, Arthur!" Ernesto hissed.

"But she answered my question," Arthur confusingly said.

"He thinks I'm lying to you, Arthur," I told him. "But, Ernesto, how can I lie to Arthur?"

Ernesto stared incredulously at me before guessing, "You're a shield. That's how you can do that."

"You honestly think I have a shield ability?" I asked.

"I believe you do know what your ability is, and by you being a shield is the only thing I can think of as to how you can resist telling Arthur the truth," Ernesto said.

I smugly grinned before saying, "Or I actually don't know." I was mimicking Arthur's ability and without thinking I continued with, "And as the leader of the Phoenix coven, don't you have better things to do?"

"I'm not the leader," he answered as if it was an uncontrollable response. 'I can't believe I just said that' expression quickly came across his face. I slightly cringed before he continued with, "I mean, I am the leader of this region, and I'm going to do what it takes to do my part in defeating the Volturies. To do that I need vampires with abilities, and you have an ability. Now either you are telling me the truth to the best of your knowledge or your ability is a shield. If you are a shield, I wonder which abilities your shield will reflect. Hmm. Bernard, are you out there?"

Ernesto had spoken in a normal tone and Chloe shot him a curious look as Bernard answered, "Yes, Mr. Rodriquez."

"Bring in Miguel," Ernesto said.

"If Honey's not a shield, should you chance such a move?" Bernard asked through the door.

"What is Miguel's ability?" I quickly asked.

Again as if his response was automatic, Ernesto said, "He is capable of turning an individual into his mindless slave." 'I can't believe I just said that' expression again quickly came across Ernesto's face. He slightly shook it off as he continued to say, "Jose was the only one who could resist his ability, but unfortunately he was killed three years ago in Mexico."

"If he can enslave anyone at will, I'm surprised he's not the leader of this coven," I commented.

"Yes, well, we take extreme steps to prevent that from happening," Ernesto said.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

Again as if his response was automatic, Ernesto said, "His limbs are ripped off and we imprisoned him inside a metal box." This time instead of having the 'I can't believe I just said that' expression Ernesto shot me a curious look.

He was about ready to figure it out and before he said anything else, Bernard asked, "Mr. Rodriquez, are you certain you want me to get Miguel?"

"Wait one second, Bernard," Ernesto told him.

I wanted some answers and before I lost my chance to get them, I quickly asked, "Who's the Phoenix leader if you're not the leader?"

"He refuses to identify himself," Ernesto automatically answered.

"You met him though?" I quickly asked before Ernesto could realize what was going on.

"Once," he answered.

"Is he Italian?"

"I couldn't pin point his exact nationality, but I don't think it was Italian," he said.

Chloe, Cornelius and Sylvia were each giving Ernesto and me a curious look, as I continued my barrage of questions with, "How many outposts are there to the Phoenix coven?"

"Six," Ernesto answered.

"Where are they?" I quickly asked.

"Each one is undisclosed to the outpost leaders," he answered.

"Enough!" Sylvia hissed. "Ernesto, her ability is the same as Arthur's ability, and she's pumping you for information."

"I actually do know what my ability is, and it's not that," I said. Ernesto stared furiously at me. "Nor am I a shield."

"Then what is it?" Ernesto angrily hissed.

I was about to answer, but then a thought came to me. I slightly grinned before I said, "I can show you better than I can tell you."

"Then show me!" Ernesto ordered.

Ernesto was obviously annoyed over my recent barrage of questions and he was tired of being nice. And I was done with this too as I mentally joined the Volturi's side of this fight.

After a pause that only a vampire could notice I finally said, "To show you, I need everyone with an ability in the same room."

Ernesto stared skeptically at me while asking "And what would happen if I arranged that?"

"You would get your answer of what my ability is," I said. Ernesto continued to give me a skeptical stared. "I can see in your face that you are wary on how I want to show you my ability. And I have no objections for you to take whatever precautions you feel necessary. Hell, fill the room with all the goons you want to ensure that I'm not trying anything. I don't care."—Except I do care actually. The more people I can get gathered in one location the better my plan will work—"I just rather show you my ability then tell you."

"I will personally turn your body parts into a pyre if you try anything," Ernesto warned.

"That would be a very stupid move on my part if I was trying something against a large group," I said.

Ernesto continued to give me a skeptical look. He then finally said, "Bernard, go tell everyone that we'll be meeting in the mall theater after the mall closes."

"On it," Bernard said. I then heard footsteps walking away.

"Now, of what to do with you, Chloe," Ernesto said as he faced her. "And letting you go isn't an option."

"What are my options?" Chloe asked.

"You're a human!" Arthur enthusiastically said before sniffing the air towards her.

I quickly stepped in front of Arthur while insisting, "And she's off limits, Arthur."

"I want to feed," Arthur practically growled.

"Arthur, like Tigger is a friend to Winnie the Pooh, she is a friend of mine," I explained.

Arthur growled at me, and when I growled back, Sylvia stepped between Arthur and me while asking, "You, a vampire who feeds on humans, would protect this human?"

"I don't kill or feed on humans," I quickly explained as I maintain my threatening pose. "I feed on elk and deer, and yes I will protect her and any other human near me."

"Sylvia, get Arthur out of here," Ernesto ordered.

Sylvia stared at me in a challenging manner before she finally said, "Yes, Ernesto. Come, Arthur."

"I want to feed," Arthur demanded.

"It's not time to feed," Sylvia told him. "Now come before Ernesto gets angry at you, and punishes you."

"Fine!" Arthur slightly hissed. He then turned towards the door.

I took a relieving breath that the incident was over as the two were leaving and when I got a whiff of Arthur's scent I realized that his scent was the scent I smelled on the shrubbery near where Dr. Callister had went off the road.

Once the door was closed after Arthur and Sylvia had left, I told Ernesto, "Arthur was the one who had caused that accident that I came upon this morning."

Ernesto took a breath before saying, "Yes. As I said earlier he has a child's mind and he froze when he got onto the road and saw the SUV heading towards him. Sylvia was going to clean up the mess, but she had to chase after Arthur first. When she returned to the accident scene with Arthur, the ambulance was there. Anyway, getting back to the present; Chloe, your options are very simple; in fact, you really have no options. You will either be killed or be turned into a vampire, and you being turned into a vampire will depend on how strong Honey's willpower is to stop herself from drinking you dry."

"What are you talking about?" I demanded as Chloe glanced worryingly at me.

"You're the one who is going to change her," Ernesto informed me.

"And why would I do that, especially when I want her set free?" I asked.

"She knows too much to be set free…" Ernesto was only able to get out.

"I'll willingly join the Phoenix coven if you release her," I declared.

"And you know too much about us for me to let you go free if you weren't joining our coven," Ernesto added. "So here's the deal for you and your friend. You and your friend will most certainly die if you don't join our coven. And, Honey, your initiation to join this coven is for you to turn Chloe… or feed on her depending on your willpower."

"And how long are you giving me before I have to attempt to turn her?" I asked.

"How long do you need?" Ernesto asked.

"Would three days be too long?" I asked, while hoping that three days would allow enough time for the cavalry to come.

Ernesto took a breath before saying, "You have twenty-four hours."

"Forty-eight hours?" I countered.

"I'm giving you twenty-four hours to prepare yourself," he said firmly. "After that you both die."

"Fine," I grumbled. "I would like to talk to Chloe alone."

Chloe and I actually have more in common than painting pictures. We both were taught sign language at a young age. I was taught sign language because my mom's older brother—her only sibling—was born deaf. Chloe was taught sign language because her younger sister Tammi was born deaf. I met Chloe and Tammi on the grand opening of my art gallery, and once I get Chloe alone I was planning to have an actual private conversation with her in sign language.

Ernesto nodded to my request while saying, "Okay, but before I leave, I must insist that you two hand over your cell phones." Without either of us saying a word, Chloe and I took out our cell phones from our purses. Once Ernesto had them, he continued with, "Come, Cornelius."

**TBC**


End file.
